BAR HARBOR – After dire seasons, the Mount Desert Island football team is on an upward trajectory.

The Trojans have shown progress since an 0-9 season in 2004, right up to last year, when they went 5-4 and earned a spot in the PTC Class B playoffs.

MDI won’t accept a dropoff this year, although the reality is, the Trojans are young this season. Twenty players from last year’s team have graduated.

“We have finally got to the point where we feel like we can remain competitive,” head coach Mark Shields said. “We’re relatively young this year and we have a lot of kids who are starting who haven’t started before, so there are a lot of question marks about who’s going to play where. We’re still looking for players right now.”

Shields has spent the preseason tinkering with his team, trying to decide who will play where and looking at different combinations.

“It’s been an interesting preseason,” he said. “It’s been pretty competitive.”

Youth doesn’t necessarily mean inexperience, however. Junior quarterback Tyler Crawford’s an example of that – he stepped in as the varsity starter his freshman year when then-starter Sean Parady was injured, and then played behind Parady when he returned healthy the following year.

Crawford is 5-foot-8 with similar size and quickness to Parady.

“Tyler did a nice job as a freshman, waited his turn last year, and he’s a great kid and a good leader,” Shields said. “He throws a good ball.”

There’s experience in the backfield as fullbacks Danny Dunn and Max Dority and tailback O’Dane Gaynor return, and good speed with Gaynor and wingback Terrence Jones. Sophomore Taylor Stewart could also get playing time.

Receivers include Jones, split end Nolan Hall and Hall’s older brother Jon, a former tailback who has moved to tight end.

“We don’t have a lot of size, but we have a lot of speed this year,” Dority said.

Senior center Chris Ranco and senior guard Justin Bartlett will anchor the line, which will be relatively inexperienced.

The 20-senior loss will likely be most evident in the defensive backfield and linebacking corps, where Andrew Leiser, whom Shields described as the heart and soul of the squad, starred last year.

“It seemed like we had a lot of kids who were 5-6, 5-7 and pretty quick, and we graduated a few of them,” Shields said.

Crawford, Dunn, Jones and Dority will step into those defensive back and linebacker roles. In fact, the Trojans will need players to take new and different roles all over the field.

“Some of the younger players are going to have to step up, but I think we’re going to have a good season,” Dority said.

MDI TROJANS

2006 results: 5-4, lost in PTC Class B quarterfinals

Head coach: Mark Shields, 5th year

Key players: Tyler Crawford, QB-DB, Jr.; Jon Hall, TE-DE, Sr.; Danny Dunn, FB-LB, Sr.; Max Dority, FB-LB, Sr.; Chris Ranco, C-DT, Sr.; Justin Bartlett, G-DT, Sr.; O’Dane Gaynor, TB-DE, Jr.; Terrence Jones, WB-DB, Jr.

Outlook: Shields was expecting 8-9 freshman players. Instead, he got 17, which he feels is the result of strong recruiting at the junior high level. MDI won’t change much on the field, sticking with its I-formation on offense and 5-2 defensive base – with a few new wrinkles, of course.